Myanmar junta airstrike kills eight in Sagaing IDP camp

A Myanmar junta fighter jet dropped multiple bombs on an IDP camp in Sagaing Region, killing eight refugees, including a pregnant mother and her three children on January 31, according to witnesses. New details have emerged about last week’s deadly airstrike on Koke Ko Village in Kale Township. The blast killed two sisters, ages 12 and eight, and their five-year-old brother as they ran toward their mother, who was just feet away in an outdoor toilet when the bomb exploded. Witnesses said the junta warplane bombed the area twice. The father, eldest son, and another daughter survived as they were in the fields when the airstrike hit. "As the mother was in the toilet, her children ran out of their home toward her just as the airstrike hit, killing them all instantly," a witness who requested anonymity told Myanmar Now. "The explosion hurled the children 10–15 feet from their mother, with some caught on the back fence. We had to gather their remains piece by piece from the surroundings."Local sources said the victims were all civilians and not associated members of the resistance. They attest that the slain family were internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were seeking refuge at a nearby IDP camp at the time. The residents of the camp have now been forced to flee again due to heightened risk of continued airstrikes.The majority of those in the village were local residents living along the Myittha River, between Kale and Gangaw towns. At least 300 people were sheltering in the area for the last three years, with many of the displaced fleeing a pro-junta militia who had previously tried to force many of the men into their ranks. An official from the IDP camp told Myanmar Now that the remains of two of the deceased were intact enough to identify, while most of the bodies were unidentifiable.Kale, a township bordering Chin State and Magway Region, is home to several junta battalions and units. At the same time, it serves as a stronghold for anti-regime forces. In late 2021, displaced people fleeing villages around the Myittha River first sought refuge at the Koke Ko Village School. They later set up temporary huts inside the school grounds and earned a living as laborers in nearby villages. Apart from nearly a dozen villages along the Myittha River between Gangaw and Kale Town, which are garrisoned by pro-junta militia forces, resistance groups control most of the southern part of the township. "The displaced families didn't live in separate houses or compounds,” Yati Ohn, an officer with the Mobile Medical Team, a relief group, told Myanmar Now. “Instead, they built huts on an empty plot, with the huts packed closely together, less than a foot apart. These small huts, made of plastic and thatch, were struck by the bomb.” Yati Ohn was providing healthcare and assistance to the displaced people in the area at the time of the attack. She described the devastation caused by the airstrike, noting that the bomb struck a densely packed area filled with huts. The family’s home was completely destroyed, leaving nothing but flattened ground, while a neighboring house was also blown apart.On January 31, as the junta extended the state of emergency, Min Aung Hlaing blamed civilians in conflict zones for instability. Yet residents in the area confirmed that the site was not a resistance camp, and no fighters lived there. “No resistance group would have set up camp in such a crowded area,” Yati Ohn said. “There were no resistance members here.” The junta’s escalating airstrikes continue to claim civilian lives, deepening the humanitarian crisis as resistance forces push back against military rule. "Whenever they hear any noise, they instinctively crouch down,” Yati Ohn said. “The trauma is overwhelming. They struggle to sleep at night and flee when they hear the sound of an airplane.”

Myanmar junta airstrike kills eight in Sagaing IDP camp

Pregnant mother and three children among dead as airstrike devastates displaced community in Sagaing

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